Connector and led lighting device including the connector

ABSTRACT

The present invention comprises a type of connector used to electrically connect a light source board and a driver board in LED lighting equipment, and the LED lighting equipment that uses this connector. The connector is mounted on the light source board, and comprises two or more conduction terminals, each of which comprises at least one flexible arm whose points of contact with the driver board can achieve an electronic connection between the light source board and the driver board. Compared to earlier models, the connector structure of the present invention is simple and easy to assemble and fabricate, facilitating large-scale automated production of LED lighting equipment and helping to reduce costs.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to the field of lighting technology; it specifically relates to a type of connector that electrically connects a light source and a driver board, and the LED lighting equipment that uses said connector.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

In the conventional technology, the electrical connection between the light source board and driver board in LED lighting equipment is achieved with a wire, each of whose ends are separately welded onto the light source board and driver board by hand, thus supplying the LED light source on the light source board with electricity. This method of electrical connection requires much time and effort, there is no way to achieve automatic assembly, and it is also unreliable and is easy to short-circuit.

In order to improve the connection between the light source board and driver board, technicians have developed a variety of direct plug-in connectors, for example the two types of connector disclosed in patent applications CN201210562730.1 and CN201310527555.7. Direct plug-in connectors use sockets mounted on the light source board and pins mounted on the driver board make a connection, simplifying the conventional process of welding wires by hand, thus making the task of connection more convenient, and enabling automatic assembly. However, there still remain problems with existing direct plug-in connectors, including a complex structure, relatively high cost and low adaptability. For example, existing connectors use metal with plastic insulation material, making design and fabrication complex and requiring a high level of precision for assembly. Therefore the scrap rate is high, and furthermore the creepage distance is not adjustable so it is not adaptable to different sizes of LED lighting equipment and thus has low adaptability.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In view of the above problems, one aspect of the present invention is to provide a connector to electrically connect the light source board and driver board of LED lighting equipment. The light source board has at least one through-hole that allows a part of the driver board to pass through it, and the part of the driver board that passes through the light source board has at least two connection points used to electrically connect it with the connector. This connector comprises two or more conduction terminals, each terminal comprising two or more mounting parts that fix the conduction terminals to the light source board, one supporting portion that connects said two or more mounting parts, and one sprung arm that electrically connects the conduction terminals with the part of the driver board that passes through the light source board. The shape and size of the conduction terminals of the present invention can be adjusted to different requirements, for example according to the size of current or creepage distance so that it can be adapted to all types of LED lighting equipment.

With regard to the connector in the present invention, it flexibly connects the flexible arms with contact points on the part of the driver board that passes through the light source board, thus achieving an electrical connection between the conduction terminal and the driver board.

With regard to the connector in the present invention, at least one flexible arm is of a cantilever form that comprises one fixed end and one free end, with the fixed end connected to one of the mounting parts of the conduction terminal or the supporting portion, thus fastening it, while the free end extends towards the side and is used to connect the contact point on the part of the driver board that passes through the light source board. Specifically, in one of the cantilever's embodiments the its fixed end and one of its mounting parts are connected or close, and the cantilever's free end extends towards the light source board's through-hole, connecting with the contact points on the part of the driver board that passes through the light source board; in the other embodiment the cantilever's fixed end forms a connection with the supporting portion and is at a distance from either of the mounting parts. The cantilever's free arm extends towards the through-holes on the light source board, and forms a connection with the contact point on the part of the driver board that passes through the light source board. The cantilever can assume any shape, for example a sheet or rod etc., and can be straight or curved. In addition, when it does not affect the connecting function of the supporting portions, the cantilever may be formed by bending part of the supporting portion.

With regard to the connector in the present invention, at least one conduction terminal also comprises a second flexible arm. This arm and either the mounting part or the supporting portion make a connection and make a flexible connection with the part of the driver board that passes through the light source board, fixing the driver board in position. At this stage, the first and second flexible arms both make a connection with the part of the driver board that passes through the light source board, making the connection between the driver board and the light source board on the structure more secure. Preferably, the said two flexible arms should separately form a connection with the two sides of the part of the driver board that passes through the light source board. Even better, the two flexible arms should be the same shape and symmetric on the driver board.

With regard to the present invention's connector, at least one of the terminal ends should be wholly fabricated from conductive metal, for example using sheet metal stamping.

The other aspect of the present invention is the provision of LED lighting equipment. This comprises a light source board on which there is at least one LED light and at least one through-hole; one driver board, part of which can pass through the light source board's through-hole, the part of the driver board that passes through the light source board having at least two contact points on it; and a connector that is mounted on the light source board and is used to achieve an electrical connection between the light source board and the driver board, said connector comprising two or more conduction terminals, each terminal comprising at least one mounting part that fixes the conduction terminal to the light source board, and one flexible arm that electrically connects the conduction terminal with the contact points on the part of the driver board passes through the light source board. The present invention uses a design in which a part of the driver board passes through the light source board; it is designed so that the driver board does not have any connecting contact pins, making the structure simple and the LED lighting equipment easy to assemble.

With regard to the LED lighting equipment in the present invention, in one embodiment each of the conduction terminals of its connector comprises two or more mounting parts that fix the conduction terminals onto the light source board, one supporting portion that connects two or more mounting parts, and one flexible arm that electrically connects the conduction terminals with the contact points on the part of the driver board that passes through the light source board.

With regard to the LED equipment in the present invention, the part of the driver board that passes through the light source board is a protruding part that is narrower than the entire width of the driver board, the whole driver board is shaped like an inverted “T”, and the protruding part has at least two contact points on it, while the light source board has a through-hole that allows the protruding part of the driver board to pass through it. In another embodiment, the part of the driver board that passes through the light source board may comprise two or more protruding parts, each protruding part having a separate contact point. The light source board has a through-hole that allows the protruding parts of the driver board to pass through it, or else the light source board has the same number of through-holes as protruding parts of the driver board, allowing each protruding part to pass through the light source board separately.

With regard to the LED lighting equipment in the present invention, the two contact points on the driver board are the welding spots on the surface of the driver board, such as solder points or metal parts on the driver board.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is the first embodiment of the connector in the present invention; it is a 3D diagram of the light source board and driver board in an unconnected state.

FIG. 2 is the first embodiment of the connector in the present invention: it is a 3D diagram of the light source board and driver board in an electrically connected state.

FIG. 3 is the front view of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is the second embodiment of the connector in the present invention; it is a 3D diagram of the light source board and driver board in an unconnected state.

FIG. 5 is the second embodiment of the connector in the present invention; it is the front view of the light source board and the driver board in an unconnected state.

FIG. 6 is the third embodiment of the connector in the present invention, a 3D diagram of the light source board and driver board in an unconnected state.

FIG. 7 is the third embodiment of the connector in the present invention, the front view of the light source board and the driver board in an electrically connected state.

FIG. 8 is the fourth embodiment of the connector in the present invention, a 3D diagram of the light source board and driver board in an unconnected state.

FIG. 9 is an exploded 3D diagram of the LED lighting equipment in the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following combination of diagrams and detailed descriptions describe the present invention in further detail.

FIG. 1 shows the first embodiment of the connector in the present invention; connector 31 is used to connect the light source board 10 and driver board 20 in LED lighting equipment. As FIG. 1 shows, light source board 10 has a through-hole 11, the driver board 20 has a protruding part 21 that is narrower compared with the width of the whole driver board 20, one side of protruding part 21 has two contact points 23 and 24, the connector 31 is mounted on light source board 10, comprising two conduction terminals 311 and 312. Said two conduction terminals 311 and 312 are wholly fabricated from a conductive metal. Taking conduction terminal 311 as an example, it comprises two mounting parts, 313 and 314, a supporting portion 315, and a flexible arm 316, of which the mounting parts 313 and 314 are positioned on the two sides of the light source board's through-hole 11 and are used to fix conduction terminal 311 onto light source board 10, supporting portion 315 is used to connect mounting parts 313 and 314; flexible arm 316 is formed by bending part of the supporting portion 315 towards the light source board's through-hole 11. Specifically, part of the supporting portion 315 bends with the point of contact between supporting portion 315 and mounting part 314 as the axis. As FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 show, when the protruding part 21 of the driver board 20 passes through the light source board's through-hole 11, flexible arm 316 and contact point 23 on the driver board make a connection achieving an electrical connection between conduction terminal 321 and the driver board 20. In this embodiment, conduction terminals 312 has the same structure as conduction terminal 311, the flexible arm of conduction terminal 312 and the contact point 24 on the driver board make a connection, achieving an electrical connection between conduction terminal 312 and driver board 20, thus achieving an electrical connection between light source board 10 and driver board 20.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show the second embodiment of the connector in the present invention; connector 32 is used to connect light source board 10 and driver board 20 in LED lighting equipment, FIGS. 4 and 5 are the 3D diagram and the front view of the light source board 10 and driver board 20 in an unconnected state and the front view in a connected state respectively. The structure of the connector 32 is similar to connector 31 in the first embodiment; the difference is between the methods of forming the flexible arms of the conduction terminals. Connector 32 comprises two conduction terminals 321 and 322, taking 321 as an example, it comprises two mounting parts 323 and 324, one supporting portion 325 and one flexible arm 326, of which mounting parts 323 and 324 are positioned on the two sides of the light source board's through-hole 11, and are used to fix conduction terminal 321 onto light source board 10. Supporting portion 325 is used to connect mounting parts 323 and 324, and flexible arm 326 is formed by bending part of supporting portion 325 towards the light source board's through-hole 11. Specifically, part of the supporting portion 325 bends with the point on the supporting portion 325 at a distance from the mounting parts 323 and 324 as its axis, when the protruding part 21 of driver board 20 passes through the light source board's through-hole 11, the connection between flexible arm 326 and contact point 23 on the driver board achieve an electrical connection. In this embodiment, conduction terminal 322 has the same structure as conduction terminal 311.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show the third embodiment of the connector in the present invention; connector 33 is used to connect light source board 10 and driver board 20 in LED lighting equipment. FIGS. 6 and 7 are a 3D diagram of light source board 10 and driver board 20 in an unconnected state and the front view diagram in a connected state, respectively. Connector 33 comprises two conduction terminals 331 and 332. Taking conduction terminal 331 as an example, it comprises two mounting parts 333 and 334, one supporting portion 335 and two flexible arms 336 and 337, whose mounting parts 333 and 334 are positioned on the two sides of the light source board's through-hole 11 and are used to fix conduction terminal 331 onto the light source board 10. Supporting portion 335 is used to connect mounting parts 333 and 334. Flexible arm 336 is formed by bending part of supporting portion 335 towards the light source board's through-hole 11. Specifically, the part of supporting portion 335 close to mounting part 334 bends, with the point on the supporting portion 335 at a distance from the mounting part 334 as its axis. Flexible arm 337 is similar in shape to flexible arm 336; the part close to mounting part 333 bends towards through-hole 11, with the point of supporting portion 335 that is at a distance from mounting part 333 as its axis. As FIG. 7 shows, when the protruding part 21 of driver board 20 passes through the light source board's through-hole 11, flexible arm 336 and contact point 23 on the driver board connect achieving an electrical connection, at the same time, flexible arm 337 forms a connection on the other side of the protruding part 21 of the driver board. The two flexible arms 336 and 337 appear to make a symmetric structure on the two sides of the driver board. In this embodiment, conduction terminal 332 has the same structure as conduction terminal 331. Compared with connectors 31 and 32 in the first and second embodiments, conduction terminals 331 and 332 of connector 33 both have two flexible arms, and can achieve a more stable connection between light source board 10 and driver board 20.

FIG. 8 shows the fourth embodiment of the connector in the present invention; connector 34 is used to connect light source board 10 and driver board 20 in LED lighting equipment. FIG. 8 is a 3D diagram of light source board 10 and driver board 20 in an unconnected state. The structure of connector 34 is similar to that of connector 31 in the first embodiment, comprising two conduction terminals 341 and 342. The difference is light source board 10 has two through-holes 11 and 12, and driver board 20 has two protruding parts 21 and 22, each with its own contact point, 23 and 24. Each of the driver board's protruding parts 21 and 22 pass through the light source board's through-holes 11 and 12, causing contact points 23 and 24 to make separate flexible connections with the flexible arms of conduction terminals 341 and 342, in this way achieving an electrical connection between light source board 10 and driver board 20.

FIG. 9 is an exploded 3D diagram showing the first embodiment of the LED lighting equipment in the present invention; this comprises a light source board 10, driver board 20 and a connector 30 that is mounted on light source board 10. Light source board 10 has multiple LED lights 40 and one through-hole 11, driver board 20 has a protruding part 21 that is narrower than the entire width of driver board 20. There are two contact points 23 and 24 on protruding part 21; connector 30 has the same structure as connector 31 in the first embodiment. Passing protruding part 21 of the driver board through the light source board's through-hole 11 can cause contact points 23 and 24 to make separate connections with the flexible arms of the two conduction terminals of connector 30, thus achieving an electrical connection between light source board 10 and driver board 20.

This detailed description of the various embodiments makes clear the many modifications and variations that may be made to the present invention. Therefore, it should be recognized that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and variations as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. 

We claim that:
 1. This comprises a type of connector used to make an electronic connection between a light source board and a driver board in LED lighting equipment; the light source board has at least one through-hole allowing part of the driver board to pass through it, and the part of the driver board that passes through the light source board has at least two contact points which are used to electrically connect the connector, which comprises of: Two or more conduction terminals, each conduction terminal comprising two or more mounting parts that fix the conduction terminals to the light source board, one supporting portion that connects the two or more mounting parts, and one flexible arm that electrically connects the conduction terminals with the part of the driver board that passes through the light source board.
 2. A connector according to claim 1, wherein said contact points on the part of the driver that passes through the light source board and the flexible arm forms a flexible connection.
 3. A connector according to claim 1, wherein at least one flexible arm is a cantilever, comprising one fixed end which connects to one of either the conduction terminal's mounting part or the supporting portion, and one free end which extends towards the side.
 4. A connector according to claim 3, wherein the fixed end of said flexible arm and one of its mounting parts connect or are close to each other, the cantilever's free end extends in the direction of the light source board's through-hole, making a connection with the contact point on the part of the driver board that passes through the light source board.
 5. A connector according to claim 3, wherein the fixed end of the flexible arm and one of its supporting portions connect and are at a distance from either mounting part, the cantilever's free end extends in the direction of the light source board's through-hole, making a connection with the contact point on the part of the driver board that passes through the light source board.
 6. A connector according to claim 1, wherein at least one conduction terminal also comprises a second flexible arm, this arm and one of the mounting parts or supporting portions makes a connection with the conduction terminal, and also makes a connection with the part of the driver board that passes through the light source board.
 7. A connector according to claim 1, wherein at least one conduction terminal is wholly fabricated from a conductive metal.
 8. A kind of LED lighting equipment comprising: A light source board on which there is at least one LED light and at least one through-hole. A driver board, part of which can pass through the through holes of the light source board, the part of the driver board that passes through the light source board having at least two contact points; one connector mounted on the light source board that is used to achieve an electrical connection between the light source board and the driver board, the connector comprising two or more conduction terminals, each terminal comprising at least one flexible arm that electrically connects the contact point on the part of the driver board that passes through the light source board and the mounting part on the conduction terminal that is fixed on the light source board.
 9. LED lighting equipment according to claim 8, wherein each conduction terminal comprises two or more mounting parts that fix the conduction terminal onto the light source board, one supporting portion that connects the two or more mounting parts, and one flexible arm that electrically connects the conduction terminal and the contact point on the part of the driver board that passes through the light source board.
 10. LED lighting equipment according to claim 8, wherein the part of the driver board that passes through the light source board is a protruding part that is narrower than the entire width of the driver board; on this protruding part there are at least two connection points, and the light source board has a through-hole that causes the protruding part of the driver board to pass through it.
 11. LED lighting equipment according to claim 8, wherein the part of the driver board that passes through the light source board comprises two or more protruding parts, and each protruding part has a separate contact point on it, and the light source board has at least one through-hole that causes the protruding part of the driver board to pass through it.
 12. LED lighting equipment according to claim 11, wherein the light source board has the same number of through-holes as there are protruding parts on the driver board, and each of the light source board through-holes is able to allow the protruding parts of the driver board to pass through them separately.
 13. LED lighting equipment according to claim 8, wherein the contact points on the driver board are the metal parts or welding spots on the surface of the driver board. 